Editorials
August 09, 2008 04:10 PM
A program that charges producers a fee to pay for the recycling of hazardous materials such as paint and motor oil is not going over well with consumers.
Perhaps because of a cynicism this money will go where it’s supposed to. Or that manufacturers are directly passing the fees to consumers and not picking up some of those costs themselves.
But on paper, at least, the approach is a good one.
As of July 1, the price of everything from paint, solvents, propane tanks, single-use batteries, oil filters, anti-freeze, fertilizers and pesticides has gone up. Not by a whole lot, from four cents to more than $1.
Some of the new eco levies include 36 cents on a gallon of paint and 28 cents on a four-litre container of antifreeze.
Consumers and some Tory MPPs have blasted the new fees, but a spokesperson for Stewardship Ontario, the independent agency receiving the levies, said the criticisms are off base.
The new fees collected on hazardous waste products go to Stewardship Ontario to develop and fund new recycling and disposal programs, Barbara McConnell said.
“The fees are based on the estimated cost of these programs and not one penny more. None of the fees will go to government,” Ms McConnell said.
Stewardship Ontario is working with municipalities to improve disposal and recycling of hazardous waste. A comprehensive program will be launched in the fall with a mass media campaign. Stewardship Ontario was created in 2002 and funded by industry to develop blue box and other waste diversion programs.
While critics of the program say the fees are driving up the cost of all kinds of needed products at a time when some Ontarians are struggling, you must keep in mind that one way or another, these items must be recycled.
Should the taxpayer pay to dispose of your old propane tank, or should the barbecue enthusiast? Should the person who takes transit be forced to pay for your oil filters and anti-freeze via their taxes? Or should motorists pay the costs of owning an operating their own cars?
Clearly, the province has decided it is consumers and industry who will pay and not taxpayers in general.
The quest now is to ensure every bit of these fees goes to create the infrastructure and programs to get more and more of these items out of the waste stream.
As long as the fees are nominal and every cent is spent on recycling, it’s a good approach.
In the meantime, such fees may force industry and consumers to turn to products that are less harmful to the environment and less difficult to recycle.